San Bruno

A division of the California Public Utilities Commission recommended Monday that the agency levy a $2.25-billion penalty against Pacific Gas and Electric Company for the deadly 2010 explosion in San Bruno. If approved, Commission officials said, the fine would be the largest ever imposed by a state regulatory agency and far beyond the previous record-setter for the agency -- a $38-million fine against PG&E for a 2008 natural gas explosion in Rancho Cordova. The September 2010 blast left eight people dead, dozens injured and more than 30 homes destroyed after a 54-year-old gas pipeline exploded underneath the suburb south of San Francisco.

On Sept. 9, 2010, years of lax maintenance by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. announced itself by leveling a neighborhood in San Bruno, just south of the San Francisco city line. Eight people were killed in the gas pipeline blast; 58 others were injured, and 38 homes were destroyed. You can take that as the baseline case for what it takes to get the federal government's attention. Earlier this week, federal prosecutors in San Francisco unveiled a 12-count felony indictment of the company for knowingly violating federal pipeline safety laws.

Utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said Thursday it expects federal officials to bring criminal charges against the company in connection with a 2010 gas-pipeline blast that devastated a San Bruno neighborhood and killed eight people. PG&E said it is negotiating with the U.S. Attorney's office for some type of resolution but provided few details. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco declined to comment on the investigation or say what if any charges were being considered.

SACRAMENTO - Pacific Gas & Electric Co., indicted by the federal government for criminal behavior stemming from a Bay Area natural gas explosion that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes, still faces more trouble. In the next few months, PG&E will face the likelihood of a fine from the California Public Utilities Commission as high as $2.25 billion for its role in the September 2010 disaster in the city of San Bruno. On Tuesday, the U.S. attorney in San Francisco announced that a grand jury indicted PG&E on 12 alleged violations of the federal Pipeline Safety Act involving poor record keeping and faulty management practices.

In a scathing critique, federal investigators blamed Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for what one official called "baffling" mistakes that led to a gas pipeline explosion last September that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes in the Bay Area last year. The National Transportation Safety Board also said PG&E exploited the lack of monitoring by regulators, who mistakenly placed "blind trust" in the utility. The report Tuesday concluded that poor pipeline welds went undetected because of a lack of inspections by the company and inadequate monitoring by state and federal regulators.

Utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will pay out $565 million in legal settlements and other claims stemming from the 2010 natural gas explosion in San Bruno, Calif., that killed eight people and devastated a neighborhood, company officials said this week. The blast in September 2010 also injured dozens and destroyed 38 homes when a 54-year-old pipeline exploded underneath the San Francisco suburb. Brittany Chord, a spokesperson for the utility, said settlements were reached with 347 victims of the incident on Friday and Monday and had previously reached settlements with 152 others.

Utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said Thursday it expects federal officials to bring criminal charges against the company in connection with a deadly 2010 gas-pipeline blast in San Bruno, Calif. In a statement, PG&E said it is negotiating with the U.S. Attorney's office. The San Francisco-based company "now expects that the U.S. Attorney will charge that PG&E's past operating practices violated the federal Pipeline Safety Act in areas such as record keeping, pipeline integrity management and identification of pipeline threats," it said in a statement.

A broken system Re " A failure of the system ," Aug. 31 The San Bruno explosion was the result of a "litany of failures" by Pacific Gas & Electric and lax regulation, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. PG&E and utility lobbyists consistently used typical arguments to head off proposed pipeline safety regulations requiring automatic shut-off valves, effective inspection methods and accurate record-keeping. As happens after many accidents, legislators may now have little choice but to ignore industry rhetoric and pass legislation that will strengthen pipeline rules.

Utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric Co. was indicted Tuesday on a dozen felony counts connected to the massive 2010 pipeline explosion that killed eight people and ravaged a San Bruno, Calif., neighborhood. The utility was charged with violating federal pipeline safety laws, including failing to identify all potential threats to the aging, high-pressure line that sparked the disaster and not maintaining proper repair records, according to the indictment filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric was charged Tuesday with federal felony counts related to a deadly gas explosion in San Bruno, Calif., in 2010. According to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office, a federal grand jury in San Francisco found that PG&E committed "multiple violations" of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 and failed to identity problems with other pipelines in its system. PG&E faces 12 criminal charges. It faces fines of up to $500,000 for each charge, officials said.

Utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said Thursday it expects federal officials to bring criminal charges against the company in connection with a 2010 gas-pipeline blast that devastated a San Bruno neighborhood and killed eight people. PG&E said it is negotiating with the U.S. Attorney's office for some type of resolution but provided few details. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco declined to comment on the investigation or say what if any charges were being considered.

Utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said Thursday it expects federal officials to bring criminal charges against the company in connection with a deadly 2010 gas-pipeline blast in San Bruno, Calif. In a statement, PG&E said it is negotiating with the U.S. Attorney's office. The San Francisco-based company "now expects that the U.S. Attorney will charge that PG&E's past operating practices violated the federal Pipeline Safety Act in areas such as record keeping, pipeline integrity management and identification of pipeline threats," it said in a statement.

A winning Mega Millions ticket worth nearly $2 million was sold at a San Bruno liquor store, but no one from the Golden State will share in Tuesday's overall jackpot of $414 million. Instead, cowinners from Florida and Maryland will split the third-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history with a cash value of more than $224 million. The largest jackpot was $656 million, split among winners in three states in 2012. Lottery officials said the two tickets matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night: 11, 19, 24, 33, 51, plus the Mega Ball of 7. Eight people in various states matched five numbers correctly and won at least $1 million each. The ticket sold at Huntington Liquor in San Bruno, missing only the Mega Ball, is worth $1,962,339, according to lottery officials.

The California Public Utilities Commission has fined Pacific Gas & Electric Co. $14.4 million for failing to notify regulators about incorrect records on a natural gas pipeline running through the city of San Carlos. "This penalty is designed to serve as a deterrent to similar behavior in the future," Commissioner Mark J. Ferron said. "There should be no question that the CPUC expects nothing less than forthright and timely disclosure in all matters of public safety. " The 10 most dangerous jobs San Francisco-based PG&E acknowledged in a statement that its "communications efforts fell short of expectations in this instance" but called the amount of the fine "excessive.

Utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will pay out $565 million in legal settlements and other claims stemming from the 2010 natural gas explosion in San Bruno, Calif., that killed eight people and devastated a neighborhood, company officials said this week. The blast in September 2010 also injured dozens and destroyed 38 homes when a 54-year-old pipeline exploded underneath the San Francisco suburb. Brittany Chord, a spokesperson for the utility, said settlements were reached with 347 victims of the incident on Friday and Monday and had previously reached settlements with 152 others.